The Shadow Exploded
by Vegetes
Summary: Wow, Veggieness is writing again...uh...Dib gets back at his foes. WARNING: Blood and Gore, Some Dib/Zim stuff. R&R...--Vegetes
1. Memories

Wow, I'm actually writing again.....sorry for my absence, stuff has been going on. Maybe I'll tie up some loose ends in some of my IZ fics. I lost my disk but I guess I'll just start over. R&R Please.  
  
Blah...I'm having trouble starting this....  
  
Uhm.....ok...here I go....  
  
Now I'm just stalling....  
  
* * * * * * * * *  
  
Beep Beep Beep......Beep Beep Beep....  
  
"Uhhnnnggg..." Dib groaned and shifted around under his blankets. He pulled his pillow over his head, trying to ignore the sound of his alarm clock signaling the start of Monday. He considered, for just a second, faking sick today. But he would have to go to school someday, if not tomorrow, then the next. He couldn't keep staying at home, couldn't keep running from his problems. He threw the pillow from over his head and onto the floor and shut his alarm off. He sat up in bed and sighed, running a finger through his tangled hair he got up and went into the bathroom to shower and get dressed.  
  
About 10 minuets later he emerged from the bathroom, fully cleaned and clothed, wearing Jeans, a white T-shirt, and his trench coat. He went over to his full-length mirror and looked at himself.  
  
"I'm not that ugly...." And it was true, he wasn't that ugly. Without his glasses and his slight acne he was actually kind of cute. But it seemed, at school at least, that he was ugly enough. He wasn't popular, not in the least, oh he had been ok 2 years ago, in Mrs. Bitters class. The kids had pretty much left him alone then, but now...oh now....  
  
He was 15 now, had been 13 back then, back then when Zim had come....Dib had spent months hunting Zim, chasing him, only to realize...he was in love. Dib was gay. Everything had been all right at first, he had continued to hunt and chase Zim. Until Zim found out....it was then that all hell had broken loose. He could remember it clearly. The phone call, Zim asking Dib how he felt...and Dib telling...and...Zim saying it back. Dib had been so happy then. Overwhelmed with joy he had ran over to Zim's house and had stayed there, it was the best day of his life...until Zim had taken Dib, hard and painfully. Dib could remember himself crying as Zim kept telling him he never loved Dib with each thrust. It had been so hurtful...and Dib had kept saying how he didn't want it that way...but Zim didn't care. Then after Zim had fallen asleep, Dib ran home, sobbing loudly, his heart broken in a million pieces. The next day at school the kids had gathered around him, calling him a faggot.....Zim had told everyone.....  
  
It had all been a plan, all been a plan to destroy Dib's heart and soul...and it had worked. The next two years had been filled with pain and hurtful words. Rocks, stones, arrows, whatever you wanted to call them, words all the same...  
  
He had given up on everything, his grades were at an all time low, he had given up on all his hobbies, nothing matter anymore...  
  
Nothing except Zim.  
  
Yes Zim.  
  
Dib was still in love, after all that had happened.....  
  
Dib choked back his tears as all these memories came flooding back to him, like they often did on Monday mornings. He shook his head, repeating to himself that crying was weak. He collected himself and went to his door, he stopped with his hand on the doorknob, however, and looked on his desk.  
  
"Just once.....i need it..."  
  
He went to the desk and on it sat a little brown box, he opened it to reveal a nice set of razors, 10 of them. Clean despite the fact that most of them had blood on them. He chose a sharp one, his favorite, and rolled up the left sleeve of his trench coat. He licked his dry lips and put the razor to his wrist. He closed his eyes and quickly sliced the razor down to leave a 6-inch gash. He sighed has he felt his anxiety and sadness leave him momentarily with the blood flowing down his hand. He put the razor away and wrapped some toilet paper around his wrist, leaving it there for a few moments. When the blood had stopped he cleaned up and left the room to go to school.  
  
What a way to start a morning....  
  
* * * * * * * * *  
  
Well....it's GOING to be horror, a little OOC I think, blah, I think I screwed up, I'm so out of touch....R&R please.  
  
:walks off, head bowed in shame:  



	2. Dib's Bad Day

Dib dashed downstairs and into the kitchen, he was going to be late if he didn't hurry. He had already missed the bus and would have to walk to school. He looked around, Gaz was gone, probly on the bus. He saw a piece of toast with grape jelly on it sitting on the table that Gaz had left for him. He smiled, at least Gaz cared, even a little. He grabbed the toast, and stuffing it in his mouth he hitched his backpack off the floor and ran out the door. No more than 1 minuet later he heard the thunder boom overhead and a wall of rain came gushing down out of the sky.  
  
"Just great..."  
  
He pulled the collar of his trenchcoat up and drew it tighter around himself. He walked slowly, letting the sound of the rain around him drown out the drone of his own thoughts. He didn't care about being late anymore, he was actually thinking of skipping school and just lying down on the ground in the rain, and never getting up again.  
  
He seriously considered it for a moment.  
  
More than a moment.  
  
"Forget this...."  
  
Dib sat down on a bench beside the sidewalk and decided to just sit and think a while. He brushed his wet bangs out of his eyes and looked up at the falling rain.  
  
"Why me.....I'm not a bad person....am I lord?"  
  
"Talking to yourself again, Dib?"   
  
Dib turned quickly to face the source of the voice, only to find out that it was the object of his affections.  
  
Zim, sitting right beside him, on the bench, holding a black umbrella and smirking.  
  
"Leave me alone Zim." Dib tried to say these words with a harsh voice but he still couldn't help the hot blush creeping up to his cheeks.  
  
"Hmph, fine." And with that, Zim got up and left. Dib bit his lip slightly and picked up his backpack to follow Zim a safe distance away.  
  
If only to be this close to him...  
  
For just a short time...  
  
Without the rocks, and arrows....  
  
  
Dib had arrived at school about 2 minuets before the late bell rang, He dashed up to the forth floor and quickly tried to undo the lock on his locker.  
  
"Come onnnn...hurry hurry...Yes!" Dib shouted as he pulled open his locker and put his things away, he zipped up his backpack, grabbed his books for his first few periods and began the run down to his first floor Chemistry class. He encountered a group of girls standing on the stairs and talking, just standing!  
  
"Arr!" He sat on the railing and slid down past the chattering girls to dash madly towards the end of the hall. The late bell rang just as he had burst into class, he made it!  
  
Suddenly someone put their foot out.  
  
"W-woah!" Dib tripped over the person's foot and went flying across the room into a table with beakers of water sitting on it. Four of the beakers crashed onto the floor around him and broke. He stared pathetically up at Mr. Brunei who was towering over him.  
  
"Glad you could join us Dib....detention."  
  
Dib groaned and got off the floor to slink to his seat in the third row, he could hear snickers all around him. He put his head in his hands and waited out the class.  
  
45 minuets later the class ended and everyone rushed out of the room, chattering and gossiping. Dib ran his fingers through his hair and sighed, he had free period next and decided to spend it in the library. He was walking down the hall when he heard voices drifting his way.  
  
"...wrong with me? I....can't get the......living."  
  
Dib's eyes shot open, it was Zim.  
  
"...can't he love me...? I just......die..." laughing.  
  
"Oh my god...." whispered Dib as he peered around the corner. There was Zim and a group of other children, mostly girls, and what was worst of all was....Zim had Dib's journal open. He was reading it aloud! How did he get it?! Then Dib came to a horrible realization, Zim had been at the bench this morning, he must have taken it out of Dib's backpack. Dib kicked himself for not noticing something was up, what was he going to do?  
  
"I love....so much. I just want to..."  
  
Oh god, that last page! They mustn't hear that! Dib leaped form around the corner.  
  
"Zim, give that back!"  
  
Zim smirked and closed the journal shut with a snap. He menacingly walked toward Dib and Dib forced himself not to blush from being near Zim. Dib narrowed his eyes and held out his hand.  
  
"Give it back, now." He tried to say in his most threatening voice.  
  
Zim grinned evilly....."Why should I," then, to Dib's surprise, Zim grabbed his hand and thrust the sleeve of his trench coat upward, revealing the large scar from earlier, "when you're cut up like a fucking thanksgiving turkey!"  
  
Dib's eyes widened in surprise and all his courage left him as he tried to pull his hand away, to no success. Zim had too strong a grip on him. Dib pulled harder and harder until Zim suddenly let go and Dib stumbled backward, hitting his head on the wall. Dib sat there in a dazed state and tried to shake himself out of it.  
  
Zim smiled down at him. "I'll be keeping this Dib, it's such an interesting little doorway into your life."  
  
Dib shook his head and pushed himself to his knees weakly. Zim laughed and started to walk away when he felt his face slammed into the floor. Dib had pushed himself against the wall to tackle Zim from behind. Zim growled and shoved Dib away.  
  
"You bitch!" He raised his fist back.  
  
Dib felt himself falling to the floor once again as fist connected with jaw. Zim took this opportunity to pummel Dib into a bloody pulp while he was down. Dib could no longer defend himself.  
  
"Don't pass out. Don't pass out. Don't pass out. Don't pass out....." he kept repeating in his mind,  
  
Unfortunately for Dib, his will power wasn't very strong. The last thing he saw was Zim throwing Dib's journal onto the floor, screaming "Keep your fucking diary." And walking away. Then Dib's world went black.  
  
  
Dib awoke in a slightly familiar room, the nurse's office, he supposed. He groaned slightly and touched his forehead where a large bruise had formed. He rolled over onto his side only to discover a sharp piercing pain in his ribs. He nuzzled his face against the pillow and closed his eyes, not wanting to move.  
  
"C'mon, get up. Can't expect you to get better if you just lie there like a frog on a log."  
  
Dib's brain slowly registered the voice, it was the school nurse. Miss D. Webber. Everyone called her D though. She was a nice lady, took her nursing seriously and could spot fakers a mile away. He slowly and painfully got up, his vision was blurry.  
  
"Took quite a beating there kid, you know who did this?"  
  
Dib's brain screamed "Zim" but his heart screamed "I don't know."  
  
"I don't know...it's all a blur..." he didn't want to get Zim in trouble, "How long have I been here?"  
  
"Bout 2 hours, it's 11:25. I'm afraid you'll have to serve detention for fighting, even though it looked pretty one sided." She laughed.  
  
"Oh ha ha ha..."  
  
"Sorry darlin. You're gonna be sent home to recover, you'll have to see the counselor tomorrow and also serve your detention. From what I can tell there's nothing broken, but you should rest. Here, take this." She handed Dib a pink slip of paper.  
  
Dib took it, "....thank you...." Dib painfully got up and left the nurses office, luckily it was the middle of a period so no one was in the halls, except a few of the seniors who gave him pity looks as he passed. He went to his locker, got his stuff, and started to head home.  
  
The walk home was a long one because of how slowly Dib had to walk because of the pain in his ribs. When he finally got to his house he groaned and leaned against the fence when he suddenly heard a voice beside him.  
  
"Got in a little tussle, eh?"  
  
Din turned to look beside him. There, leaning against the fence, was a tall man dressed all in gray, hat and everything.  
  
"Yea....guess so...."  
  
"Look....I'v got something that can help you..." said the Gray Man, as he reached into his pocket.  
  
* * * * * * * * * *  
  
I must admit this fic isn't going as I had planned, yaro. The horror is coming soon, I promise, eeeeee.  



	3. The Gray Mans Gift

OK! Time to work on this fic, woo. Sorry for the absence, but I got really stuck, hopefully I don't mess this up. And just so you know the Gray Man is NOT a drug dealer. A certain someone seemed to think that. :coughKojicough:   
  
* * * * * * * * *  
  
As the Gray Man reached into his pocket Dib took a step back, not knowing what was gonna happen.  
  
"Look mister…" He said calmly, "I'm not into any of that weed, crack, heroin, whatever you got, I'm not into it, alright?" He started to walk away but the Gray Man grabbed onto his wrist.  
  
"I promise you'll like it, it'll help you, grant what you want and what they deserve..."  
  
That caught Dib's interest and he stopped trying to pull away from the Gray Man's grip.  
  
"Yea…? What is it…?"  
  
The Gray Man pulled out of his pocket a long silver chain, on the end was a metal symbol, Dib had never seen anything like it, and it didn't look Japanese or anything like that. It was giving off a faint green glow and Dib felt strangely drawn to it.  
  
"Just think Dib….this'll make whatever you want to happen come true…"  
  
Dib reached for the necklace but the Gray Man pulled away.  
  
"Ah ah ah…sign this first…" He pulled out a large faded scroll written with green ink. It was in some form of writing Dib couldn't read."  
  
"What's it say…?" He asked.  
  
"It's just a simple contract, I give you the necklace, you follow several rules. Don't show or tell anyone about it, don't get it wet, no wishing for impossible things, like wanting to fly or that stuff. Just sign on the dotted line, and fame and fortune is yours…"  
  
He pulled out a large quill and held it out toward Dib. Dib knew better than to do this but it was like his hand was moving all by itself, he grabbed the quill and quickly scribbled his name on. He grabbed for the necklace but the man grabbed his hand again.  
  
"Follow the rules, young man..." He grinned in a way that really made Dib wonder if that had been such a smart idea. Then got up and walked off, leaving Dib holding the necklace.  
  
Dib put the necklace in his pocket and dashed into his house and up the stairs into his room, he locked the door behind him just in case.  
  
"That was too much….." He walked over to his mirror, he did look pretty beaten up. He even had a bald spot where some of his hair had gotten ripped out.  
  
"Heh…." He laughed slightly," "Now I'm gonna have to do a comb over..." (A/N: Comb on over! Comb on over baby! ^^;;;)  
  
He then slipped the necklace around his neck. He was instantly greeted by a warm sensation through his body.  
  
"Ok…let's see what this thing can do.." He took a deep breath and held onto the necklace, "I wish I was popular…"  
  
Dib looked around, nothing had changed, nothing had happened, he still looked the same. Only he felt really stupid.  
  
"I should have known, rip off…" He reached up to take off the necklace off but found that he couldn't. The latch wasn't stuck or anything, it's just that his hands weren't doing what they told him too. It was like...he couldn't describe it, but his hands wouldn't take off the necklace. He sighed and flopped down on his bed, wondering what kind of trouble this would cause him.  
  
He looked at the clock that said 3pm, Gaz should be coming home soon. He decided he would take a little nap, he was awfully tired and stressed from the events of the day. He undressed down to his boxers and climbed under the covers. He heard the front door slam when his sister came in, and he heard her come up the stairs and go into his room.  
  
"Doesn't even ask how I'm feeling..." He sighed, then closed his eyes and drifted off to sleep.  
  
Meanwhile, Gaz was sitting in her room.  
  
"I want to go in and see how he's doing…" She thought to herself, "But I'm no good at understanding other people, I think it's deeper than just the psychical pain with him.."  
  
She sighed as she picked up her Gameslave2 and started to play.  
  
* * * * * * * * *  
  
Please R&R! Now pardon me while I go try and get the popcorn crumbs OUT OF MY EYE!  
  
:scurries off: 


End file.
